Broken Mask
by XDioxideX
Summary: DiNozzo is put under increasing pressure as the team disintegrates right in front of him. Will he be able to take the pressure, or will he collapse? Sequel to "Behind the Smile"
1. Chapter 1

_**Broken Mask**_

** Hey guys! Finally writing SOMETHING again. (I've got, like, six different stories to work on and this is probably a bad idea to start, but who gives a crap?) I've had the concept for a story like this for a WHILE. As in, since last February/March. Not even kidding. ANYWAYYYYYS. This is a sequel to my other story, "Behind the Smile." Yeah. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with longer chapters and other stuff. And also a better ending. (Behind the Smile had the crappiest ending ever.) If you haven't read that yet, I suggest you go read it! It'll keep you up to date. (Yeah, I know. None of you are going to go read it. I never read prequels either XD) **

_**HAVE FUN.**_

DiNozzo breezed into the bullpen as usual. It had been nearly a year since his ordeal with the Meason family, and almost two months since Ziva's exit. While he had managed to get over her leaving, he still suffered from the occasional nightmare or outburst.

He looked around, seeing McGee working at his desk and Vance chatting with some high up official on the balcony. The director glanced down and gave a slight nod at the agent before returning to his conversation.

"Morning, Probie." Tony dumped his bag on the floor and plopped into his seat. "It's Monday morning, right?"

"Why do you ask?" The agent cast a suspicious look over at his partner. "And yes, it is Monday morning."

A Cheshire grin was spread across the Italian's face. "Just wondering. I'm guessing you spent the weekend leveling up your Elf Lord, McGeek?"

"No, Tony." Irritation was evident in the younger man's tone. "I actually did something productive."

DiNozzo rose from his seat and sauntered over to the other. "Oh really? What did you do?"

"I helped Delilah rake leaves and clean up around the yard." His tone switched to one of self-satisfaction.

Both of their heads snapped up to attention when Gibbs walked in. He quietly began packing his things together before finally tossing his pistol and badge into the drawer in his desk and locking it.

"Boss? Are you going somewhere?" Tony blinked and watched as the agent began to move towards the elevator.

"Mexico. Hold down the fort while I'm gone."

"Just like that?"

"What did I just say? Yes, I am going to Mexico. You can take care of things." The sniper shot his subordinate a look and stepped onto the lift. It was hardly a moment later when the doors closed.

"What was that about?" McGee furrowed his brow.

"He's going to Mexico, apparently." DiNozzo's formerly bright mood had soured in a moment. "We'll just go on as normal, Probie."

"Alright." The younger man looked back to his computer screen and began to type as his partner wandered back to his own desk. "At least we're not in the middle of a case," he muttered.

"Don't get your hopes up."

"I know,"

It was hardly a day later when a new case walked through the door. The two agents knew it would be a long one as soon as they saw the details. A marine had been murdered and dumped underneath a pile of leaves in a person's outside staircase.

"Ah, quite the scene we have here." Ducky said as they approached the yellow tape. He ducked under it and made his way over to the body. Palmer followed close behind while DiNozzo and McGee spoke to one of the police officers that had first responded. The officer directed them over to a young woman with light blonde hair. She looked completely distraught; her eyes were wide and brimming with tears.

"Agents Tony DiNozzo and Tim McGee," Tony stated as he flashed his badge. Tim followed. "Can you tell us your name?"

"I'm Hailey Green," the girl blinked rapidly. "I'm twenty-two years old, I live alone, and the only family I have is my uncle." She rattled off the facts in a moment, speaking nearly too fast for McGee to scribble it down on his notepad.

"Thank you. Now what exactly happened?"

"Well, I was going to rake the leaves out of the stairs because they always pile up there, and I was almost halfway done when my rake caught on something. I didn't know what it was, so I moved some of the leaves out of the way and the body was there." Hailey was speaking faster and faster. "I immediately put the rake down and called the police. Are they going to take my house? When will all of this be cleaned up?" Her voice rose in pitch.

"Calm down, ma'am. We're simply collecting information. No, they're not going to take your house. You will be able to remain here, but you will not be allowed on the crime scene. This will be cleaned up once the case is resolved, okay?" DiNozzo spoke soothingly. "Come have a seat." He walked her to a nearby ambulance before returning to the scene.

"Sounds like she's been through something like this before," Tim said. "She knew exactly what to tell us."

"We'll find out later when we go over her record." Tony lifted his camera and started to snap pictures of the body. The other agent wandered off to collect more information.

"This is quite the peculiar case," Doctor Mallard was muttering. "Our resident must not have been at home when this body was hidden. Otherwise, she would have heard the leaves being crushed."

"How long has the body been here?" Jimmy asked.

"He couldn't have been here for long, Mr. Palmer. The leaves have only been falling for a week or so. The real question is how our friend here died." The ME's voice trailed off as something drew his attention.

DiNozzo continued to move about the crime scene gathering information and working on piecing together what could have happened. He felt frustration rising in his stomach as nothing came to mind. There was no evidence that could lead to anything. If Gibbs were there, they would already have found some vital piece of _something_ that would finish the case in a moment. Of course, the team leader had chosen to leave without any form of notice and go to who knows where.

It was nearly three hours later when they were finally able to leave. DiNozzo was driving a few car lengths behind McGee when a vehicle swerved from another lane and smashed into the agent's Charger. It veered off the road and into the ditch; it was launched through the air and finally into the trees on the side of the road.

Tony had slammed the brakes and leapt from his Dodge before he even knew what was going on.

**TBC? Hope you guys enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

**OH LOOK. A new chapter. Reviews are SO appreciated, guys. I can't even explain.**

Tony sprinted through the traffic and onto the median; barely avoiding the heavy traffic and hardly hearing the screech of tires as the other vehicles swerved. Sickly gray smoke was drifting from McGee's car when DiNozzo vaulted over a destroyed guard rail and nearly tripped as his feet hit the tangled grass. There was debris everywhere, ranging from the shattered glass of a tail light to the mangled remains of a door.

"McGee? Tim?!" The agent raced towards the car, or what was left of it. His partner's Charger was halfway off the ground; the tree it had collided with was holding the right side off of the flattened grass. The left side was against the dirt, causing the driver's side door to be lower than normal. Tony knelt down next to it and allowed a sigh of relief when he saw that Tim wasn't dead.

"Tony?" The younger man's voice was a strained murmur; he could barely get out the word.

"I'm here, I'm here. Look, just don't move. Does anything hurt?" DiNozzo quickly assessed the situation and decided to simply try and keep his friend as comfortable as possible until help showed up. A crowd of people had formed at the edge of the highway, and a number of them were calling for assistance.

"I don't know," Tim blinked and looked around. The roof of the car was almost crushed on top of him, and his door was pressed to his side. It had been shoved against him and rendered nearly impossible to open. Someone came forward with a first aid kit and a bottle of water.

"Is there anything I can do?" The woman asked. She looked almost sick.

"Thank you for this. Keep back and make sure that no one else comes over here until the authorities arrive." DiNozzo waved her off and turned his attention back to McGee. He let out a heavy breath when she didn't leave. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step away." A heavy drop of rain fell as he spoke. After a quick glance at the sky, the agent realized that they didn't have much time before it started pouring.

"Okay," her voice was hesitant, but she backed away.

Tony pulled out his phone and dialed Gibbs' number, even though he knew his boss wouldn't answer. He never did when he was in Mexico. His phone went straight to voicemail.

"Boss? I know you probably won't hear this for a while, but McGee has been in a serious car accident. Please respond as soon as possible." There was a distant wail of sirens as he put his cell away and reverted his attention back to the agent in front of him.

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Tim sounded worried.

"Quiet, Probie. You're not going to die." DiNozzo held out the water bottle. "Do you need a drink?"

"No, I'm fine." McGee blinked more as blood ran into his eyes. A deep cut across his forehead was causing the stuff to block his vision.

"Here." The older dug through the first aid kit and found some cloth. He wet it with some of the water from the bottle and cleaned some of the blood off of his friend's face. Rain was beginning to steadily fall at this point. Thunder rumbled in the distance; the sound mixed with the ever louder cry of sirens. Blue lights flickered somewhere down the road.

A whimper escaped the agent's throat when the vehicle gave a sudden jerk. It was sliding down the tree. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing." Tony stood up and looked at the other side of the car. The thing was only going to continue to scrape down until it was flat on the ground again. "You're going to be fine." He turned to look as a pair of police officers approached.

"We can handle this, sir." One of them spoke. "You can speak to Officer Davidson here and give a report. The vehicle is unstable and you need to step away."

The agent laughed inwardly. It hadn't been five minutes since he had told the woman to step back. He flashed his badge, noticing with a flash of horror the amount of blood and other things that were on his hands. They were filthy. "This is my partner Timothy McGee." DiNozzo put his badge back and returned to making sure that his friend wasn't in need of anything he could take care of.

The officers exchanged a glance before one gave a defeated sigh and walked back to the crowd of bystanders. The other knelt down next to Tony. "What happened?"

"What do you think?"

"A car accident, sir." A fire truck pulled up a moment later. Multiple firefighters jumped out and ran over, carrying first aid kits and an array of other tools. They brushed past the two already next to the car and began to grill Tim on his condition as a few others started to shift the car. It wasn't long before the thing was flat on the ground again. Gasoline and other fluids were running into the grass and towards the ditch.

Two hours later they finally extracted McGee from the wreckage and rushed him to the hospital. DiNozzo rode in the ambulance with him and contacted the others, having to repeatedly tell Abs that no, Tim wasn't dead, and that the younger man was going to live.

Another four hours passed before the agent was released from surgery. The injuries he had sustained were fairly severe, including a compound fracture in his forearm, a few snapped ribs, extensive bruising and slight internal bleeding, and a broken foot.

Tony had spent fifteen minutes simply scrubbing his hands, even though they were clean after the first couple of minutes. He had gone from focused and ready to respond to just about anything to distraught and unresponsive. His clothing was dirty and there was a mixture of blood, dirt, and mechanical fluids streaked through his hair, on his knees, and up his sleeves.

Ducky finally forced him to turn off the sink and dry his raw hands. "Come, Anthony. You need to rest and recover."

"You don't know how scared he was, Doctor." DiNozzo leaned his hands against the counter and looked into the sink. "He thought that was it, that he wasn't getting out of that car. I was starting to think the same thing when I saw what those firefighters had to do."

"Accidents like this do tend towards the more traumatic side, my dear boy. But that does not mean you have to feel like it was your fault." The ME began to guide the younger man by a hand on his shoulder.

"I know, it's just that I'm responsible for what happens while Gibbs is gone." Tony mumbled. His gaze was fixed on the floor.

"You could not have stopped that, even if you had wanted to. The only thing you could do was what you did, which is help out in any way you could. I spoke to the responding officers and they said that no one could keep you away from that vehicle."

"I wasn't about to just leave my friend alone, Ducky. You never saw how terrified he was."

"No, Anthony, I didn't. Just know that you did the right thing. Jethro would have done the same."

DiNozzo blinked as they walked down the pristine hallway. He felt like he was unwanted; a dark smudge on the white. One thing continued to nag in the back of his mind, though.

_Could he take all of the pressure for three agents?_


End file.
